So on March 29 of this year, just a couple weeks after Beyoncé announced her forthcoming album, I ordered one of the limited edition vinyl records from her website. I usually wait until after an album is released and after I’ve both listened to and confirmed that I like an album before purchasing it on wax. I was also aware that, given the obvious sonic direction she was headed with this album (I’m not a particular fan of country, although there’s songs here and there that I enjoy), buying this album before hearing it presented an obvious risk of money waste. But given my recent rack record of enjoying Beyoncé albums, especially given how much I enjoyed her album Renaissance in 2022, I was willing to make a rare exception to my rule and buy the album before it had dropped. Including shipping and taxes, it cost me almost $60.

I should add that my official order was the “COWBOY CARTER LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE COVER VINYL (BLUE)”. There wasn’t any track listing. There wasn’t any additional notes or comments. So what I assumed was that this the official album, in a limited edition colorway, and with an exclusive cover.

I emphasize that there wasn’t any additional info on the website because, when the album officially dropped, it was different from what was on vinyl. The album on wax did not have some of the key songs (let me be clear: the BEST songs) that were available in the digital release. Not long after, the “official” Cowboy Carter vinyl record was announced, with the full track list that was released digitally, for about $50.

If I’m being fair, I should blame myself for buying a record without knowing the tracklist. That’s certainly not one of my wisest decisions and, again, not something I do in 99.99% of other cases. But I can’t help but be upset anytime I think about the fact that I feel like I got swindled.

And I understand that that isn’t supposed to color my opinion on the actual music of Cowboy Carter, which overall is “good”, despite not being among my favorites from her…and yet it does. I admittedly enjoy the album far less and have not returned to the album very often with the cloud of this vinyl record “debacle” hanging over my shoulder.

Will these emotions last? Probably not; I don’t necessarily think about all this on a day-to-day basis and $60, while not cheap, is miniscule in the grand context of all the money I’ve ever spent on physical music media. But I think my ability to essentially go without this an, from Beyoncé — an artist whose music I massively enjoy — indicates to me that this is not one of the “essentials” in her discography.